CPRC appointments: Round two
Last Wednesday, five elected officials gathered at City Hall to interview five candidates to fill two spots on the Community Police Review Commission.
Both Human Relations Commission Chair Chani Beeman and former Board of Public Utilities member Peter Hubbard received three votes and were selected to serve on the CPRC. Sharon Tyrrell and Steven Simpson each received two votes.
It turns out that three votes was not enough for either Beeman or Hubbard so all four candidates will be reinterviewed by the city council and Mayor Ron Loveridge on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. After that, the choices will be made.
Down to four candidates
The process is being done over because a rule was violated during last week's vote on the appointments affecting three boards and commissions.
City Clerk Colleen Nichols said that if less than the full body of elected officials are present, then four votes are required to appoint a commissioner. If the entire body of elected officials meets, then it will take five votes. So the legally proper thing to do is to undergo the process again.
It was never explained why Councilman Art Gage did not attend the CPRC interviews, as he was seen getting on an elevator on the seventh floor at 12:45 p.m., shortly before the interviews began. In the past, Gage has been vocal in his opposition to the CPRC, but he has participated in the interview and selection process. Mayor Ron Loveridge had a prior commitment and Councilman Frank Schiavone was apparently home sick last week. One would guess that all eight city officials will be present at the next round.
Here are the remaining candidates and their strengths and weaknesses:
Chani Beeman: Current HRC commissioner and former police reforms activist
Pluses: Clearly the most knowledgeable of the applicants, and her appointment should be one that would make some sense for police reform activists and the Riverside Police Officers' Association to support if both are thinking since she's "responsible and balanced".
Minuses: Beeman's the only candidate with a tie to the police department through a son who's a police officer which may be hard to sell to the community that doesn't spend its time at City Hall. Also, her departure from the HRC which she chairs leaves that commission in the lurch during an important transitional period.
Odds: EVEN Betro will have to lobby hard but he'll get the votes and maybe it won't be that much work as he'll just need to pull in two votes from either Love. Beeman's appointment will finally put those GASS rumors to rest. Next time, Beeman, choose a more transparent route to get in.
Peter Hubbard: Former Board of Public Utilities member for eight years. Used to work for American Medical Response as a paramedic.
Pluses: Like Beeman, Hubbard was selected because he had prior board experience, which several councilmen said was needed during the CPRC's current *cough* situation *cough*.
Minuses: He had little knowledge of the CPRC and his main contribution to the interview is that his departure from the Public Utilities Board had created a "void" in his life. Maybe he should take up a hobby.
Odds: 2-1 He benefits from the tide to bring insiders onto the commission so should ride in. He's male and that by itself will bring him the votes.
Steven Simpson: Former reserve officer with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. His claim to fame was bringing in letters of reference from two county sheriffs and a former FBI director.
Pluses: His interview was pretty good, though more knowledgeable about civilian review in general than the CPRC in particular.
Minuses: He mentioned his letter from the FBI director three times. That's well and good but what's more important is what you can bring to the CPRC.
Odds: 7-2 Councilman Steve Adams loves him and he could knock up a few votes over the weekend and sneak on in there.
Sharon Tyrrell: Escrow officer. Graduate of a leadership academy
Pluses: She gave a fairly good interview and clearly is someone who is flexible and can work with other people.
Minuses: She's a woman who's not connected with City Hall and that hurts her chances. And when they encouraged her at her leadership training to apply for a board and commission, they left some of the rules of the game out of the presentation on City Hall 101.
Odds: 10-1 She's too much of an average citizen to have a chance. She'll need to serve on another board or commission first to have a crack at this one.
After the dust settles on the selection process, it isn't clear who will be left standing either on the applicant list or even on the city council since decisions right now may have repercussions especially for those up for election this year. Not to mention which elected official will have the most chips to call in by the end of the process, because often, that's how things work at City Hall. I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine, a certain degree of that attitude is found in any government system. The other name for it is governing by consensus, which is one reason why there are so many 7-0 votes coming from this city's dais. Most community members can see right through it, have and that's one reason why the city council will be sending the rules of conduct to the governmental affairs committee for further pruning according to this report.
That committee's members are Frank Schiavone, Dom Betro and Ed Adkison and all have approved earlier restrictions to public participation at city council meetings. Betro and Adkison in recent weeks have been more aggressive at cutting people off in mid-speech, so expect to see further restrictions imposed like is often the case when this item is referred to this committee.
After all, Betro's impassioned plea to the television viewers at home several weeks ago to come down to protest against those who criticized him and the other city council members didn't produce much in the way of results.
But before that drama resumes, they will have to come to a vote on who to place on the CPRC.
The mantra which will be repeated during the commission selection process is that the CPRC is the most important commission but it sure hasn't been treated that way unless allowing your direct employee, City Manager Brad Hudson, to micromanage it is a sign of affection.
For sure, it's going to be a busy weekend for those currently sitting on the dais. By the time city residents come to that meeting to lobby for their favorites during public comment, the decisions probably will have been made. Just as most of the decisions by the city council are made before they bring the issues to the weekly meeting for a public vote.
But the emphasis will also be on placing commissioners with prior board and commission experience on the CPRC, those who have paid their dues, which is an attitude that should not have been part of the selection process. Even though most of the city's residents will never be seen by the city council as fit to be interviewed for a spot on a board or commission let alone appointed, it's interesting the number of individuals who have simply moved on from one commission to the next, even mid-term. Two commissioners from the obviously-not-that-important Human Relations Commission left that panel to serve on the CPRC which doesn't bode well for it. It does add to the view that many have towards City Hall of belonging to those who work their way into its inner core, only.
That said, the selections will probably be Beeman who gave the best interview and Hubbard who gave the weakest and hopefully, both will be up to the task to work along with the rest of the commission. Though given that the majority of the city council is probably directing its direct employee to weaken the CPRC, it's probably not going to place commissioners on that body unless it is operating under the belief system that they will carry out its mission. So, in a way, it's almost better not to be picked.
The selection process for the CPRC wasn't the only one that has to be done over because of the rule clarification as candidates for the Planning Commission and Board of Public Utilities are coming back for second interviews. Traditionally, intrigue and politics have surrounded the Planning Commission but it's not clear if it has been affected to the same degree as the CPRC.
Both Human Relations Commission Chair Chani Beeman and former Board of Public Utilities member Peter Hubbard received three votes and were selected to serve on the CPRC. Sharon Tyrrell and Steven Simpson each received two votes.
It turns out that three votes was not enough for either Beeman or Hubbard so all four candidates will be reinterviewed by the city council and Mayor Ron Loveridge on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. After that, the choices will be made.
Down to four candidates
The process is being done over because a rule was violated during last week's vote on the appointments affecting three boards and commissions.
City Clerk Colleen Nichols said that if less than the full body of elected officials are present, then four votes are required to appoint a commissioner. If the entire body of elected officials meets, then it will take five votes. So the legally proper thing to do is to undergo the process again.
It was never explained why Councilman Art Gage did not attend the CPRC interviews, as he was seen getting on an elevator on the seventh floor at 12:45 p.m., shortly before the interviews began. In the past, Gage has been vocal in his opposition to the CPRC, but he has participated in the interview and selection process. Mayor Ron Loveridge had a prior commitment and Councilman Frank Schiavone was apparently home sick last week. One would guess that all eight city officials will be present at the next round.
Here are the remaining candidates and their strengths and weaknesses:
Chani Beeman: Current HRC commissioner and former police reforms activist
Pluses: Clearly the most knowledgeable of the applicants, and her appointment should be one that would make some sense for police reform activists and the Riverside Police Officers' Association to support if both are thinking since she's "responsible and balanced".
Minuses: Beeman's the only candidate with a tie to the police department through a son who's a police officer which may be hard to sell to the community that doesn't spend its time at City Hall. Also, her departure from the HRC which she chairs leaves that commission in the lurch during an important transitional period.
Odds: EVEN Betro will have to lobby hard but he'll get the votes and maybe it won't be that much work as he'll just need to pull in two votes from either Love. Beeman's appointment will finally put those GASS rumors to rest. Next time, Beeman, choose a more transparent route to get in.
Peter Hubbard: Former Board of Public Utilities member for eight years. Used to work for American Medical Response as a paramedic.
Pluses: Like Beeman, Hubbard was selected because he had prior board experience, which several councilmen said was needed during the CPRC's current *cough* situation *cough*.
Minuses: He had little knowledge of the CPRC and his main contribution to the interview is that his departure from the Public Utilities Board had created a "void" in his life. Maybe he should take up a hobby.
Odds: 2-1 He benefits from the tide to bring insiders onto the commission so should ride in. He's male and that by itself will bring him the votes.
Steven Simpson: Former reserve officer with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. His claim to fame was bringing in letters of reference from two county sheriffs and a former FBI director.
Pluses: His interview was pretty good, though more knowledgeable about civilian review in general than the CPRC in particular.
Minuses: He mentioned his letter from the FBI director three times. That's well and good but what's more important is what you can bring to the CPRC.
Odds: 7-2 Councilman Steve Adams loves him and he could knock up a few votes over the weekend and sneak on in there.
Sharon Tyrrell: Escrow officer. Graduate of a leadership academy
Pluses: She gave a fairly good interview and clearly is someone who is flexible and can work with other people.
Minuses: She's a woman who's not connected with City Hall and that hurts her chances. And when they encouraged her at her leadership training to apply for a board and commission, they left some of the rules of the game out of the presentation on City Hall 101.
Odds: 10-1 She's too much of an average citizen to have a chance. She'll need to serve on another board or commission first to have a crack at this one.
After the dust settles on the selection process, it isn't clear who will be left standing either on the applicant list or even on the city council since decisions right now may have repercussions especially for those up for election this year. Not to mention which elected official will have the most chips to call in by the end of the process, because often, that's how things work at City Hall. I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine, a certain degree of that attitude is found in any government system. The other name for it is governing by consensus, which is one reason why there are so many 7-0 votes coming from this city's dais. Most community members can see right through it, have and that's one reason why the city council will be sending the rules of conduct to the governmental affairs committee for further pruning according to this report.
That committee's members are Frank Schiavone, Dom Betro and Ed Adkison and all have approved earlier restrictions to public participation at city council meetings. Betro and Adkison in recent weeks have been more aggressive at cutting people off in mid-speech, so expect to see further restrictions imposed like is often the case when this item is referred to this committee.
After all, Betro's impassioned plea to the television viewers at home several weeks ago to come down to protest against those who criticized him and the other city council members didn't produce much in the way of results.
But before that drama resumes, they will have to come to a vote on who to place on the CPRC.
The mantra which will be repeated during the commission selection process is that the CPRC is the most important commission but it sure hasn't been treated that way unless allowing your direct employee, City Manager Brad Hudson, to micromanage it is a sign of affection.
For sure, it's going to be a busy weekend for those currently sitting on the dais. By the time city residents come to that meeting to lobby for their favorites during public comment, the decisions probably will have been made. Just as most of the decisions by the city council are made before they bring the issues to the weekly meeting for a public vote.
But the emphasis will also be on placing commissioners with prior board and commission experience on the CPRC, those who have paid their dues, which is an attitude that should not have been part of the selection process. Even though most of the city's residents will never be seen by the city council as fit to be interviewed for a spot on a board or commission let alone appointed, it's interesting the number of individuals who have simply moved on from one commission to the next, even mid-term. Two commissioners from the obviously-not-that-important Human Relations Commission left that panel to serve on the CPRC which doesn't bode well for it. It does add to the view that many have towards City Hall of belonging to those who work their way into its inner core, only.
That said, the selections will probably be Beeman who gave the best interview and Hubbard who gave the weakest and hopefully, both will be up to the task to work along with the rest of the commission. Though given that the majority of the city council is probably directing its direct employee to weaken the CPRC, it's probably not going to place commissioners on that body unless it is operating under the belief system that they will carry out its mission. So, in a way, it's almost better not to be picked.
The selection process for the CPRC wasn't the only one that has to be done over because of the rule clarification as candidates for the Planning Commission and Board of Public Utilities are coming back for second interviews. Traditionally, intrigue and politics have surrounded the Planning Commission but it's not clear if it has been affected to the same degree as the CPRC.
Labels: City elections, CPRC, What is past is prologue
posted by Five Before Midnight | 10:14 AM
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